Faded
by dancingpines
Summary: "Caleb Brown shot him. And then he shot Kate." A mini s8 finale insert.
1. Chapter 1

"Kate," he whispered.

Why could he only whisper? Why is everything black? And why is his chest on fire?

Struggling, he opens his eyes. The ceiling. Is he on the floor? There's a weight on his hand. Slowly he turns his head. "Kate."

Right. Caleb Brown. Caleb Brown shot him. And then he shot Kate. A moan draws his attention back to the floor.

Help, they need help. Another moan.

"Stay with me, Kate."

He flashes back to the first time he said those words. A beautiful day, turned tragic.

He feels the grip on his hand loosen. Using all the strength he has left he fishes the phone from his pocket.

"Hey Castle," Ryan greets.

"Ambulance." That's all he can get out.

The hand holding his lets go, and everything fades back to black.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - stay with me guys, things are gonna be deceiving. I'm a Caskett shipper and believe in happy-ever-afters. ;)**

Beeping. That's the first thing he hears. Something is beeping. It's cold, wherever he is. There's no weight on his hand.

"Mr. Castle."

A voice, far away.

"Mr. Castle, you need to wake up now."

Wake up? From what? Did he dream getting shot? Is he in his bed at the loft?

"Mr. Castle, wake up for me."

Rick Castle opens his eyes to a blinding white light. It burns. Just like his chest. He quickly closes them. If that was a dream, why does he still feel like his chest is on fire?

Taking a moment, he lets his senses take in his surroundings. This doesn't feel like his bed. There's no warmth beside him where Kate should be laying. And what is with that ridiculous beeping?

Once more Castle opens his eyes. The light has dimmed and he is able to look around. He finds a woman standing beside whatever bed he is laying on.

"Hello there, Mr. Castle. It's good to see you awake."

Why does this woman want him to be awake? Where's Kate?

"Beckett."

"Mr. Castle, do you know where you are?"

Silence

"Mr. Castle, you're in the hospital. Do you remember anything from before you're current state?"

Thinking with all the function he can, Rick conjures up the memories. He was going to make Kate a meal. She went into their bedroom to change. As he was talking, someone shot him. Caleb Brown. He shot him, and then he shot Kate. Where's Kate?

"Mm, I remember someone breaking into my home and shooting me, and my wife. Where's Kate?"

"You're correct Mr. Castle. We've treated you for a gunshot to the chest. You'll be fine with some rest, and a whole lot of healing. As for Mrs. Castle, things aren't so easy."

She took two bullets, he remembers. Could she have had complications?

"Tell me." Castle says.

"I'm sorry Mr. Castle, I'm afraid Kate Beckett-Castle didn't make it out of surgery last night."

Everything stops. The beeping is gone. The only sound he can hear is his blood rushing through his ears, feeling like he's about to be swallowed into a hole from underneath.

"We did everything we could, but her wounds were too extensive, and she lost too much blood before the ambulance made it to our facility. I'm so sorry, Mr. Castle. I know this is hard to hear, but you need to focus on your recovery."

This couldn't be happening. A world without Kate Beckett is not a world Richard Castle wants to experience.

Castle feels his eyes shutting. They must have put something into his IV, he imagines. Just as the tears begin to fall from his eyes, everything fades back to black.

 **A/N - Don't hate me too much. Stay tuned for the next chapter. I promise we'll get through this together.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Alright, here we go. This is fan** ** _fiction_** **for a reason. Push through.**

 _7 days later._

"Richard, you need to rest."

He's sitting up in bed at the loft. His mother has discovered hm with his laptop.

"Not now, Mother."

She sighs. Sometimes that son of hers can be so stubborn. He hasn't done anything since he's been home except use that damn laptop.

"What is so important that it can't wait until you've healed more?"

"Alternate universes." He states firmly.

"Richard, why on Earth would you be looking into that kind of thing when you've just been released from the hospital?"

Maybe it's the pain medication he's on.

"Because that's the only way I could lose Kate. Somehow being shot knocked me into an alternate universe, and I'm going to find out how to get back to real life."

It's definitely the drugs, Martha thinks.

His mother huffs and leaves him to it, hoping soon he will fall asleep and find some peace.

Castle, however, has other ideas. He knows in his heart, his shot up almost dead heart, that there's no way in reality that Kate Beckett could die and he would live. They've overcome so much tragedy, this would not be how their story ends.

In his research, he finds out that sometimes falling into a deep sleep results in the person waking back up in reality.

Desperate to be back with Kate, he pops his pain medication into his mouth and waits patiently for everything to fade to black.

 **A/N - have you figured out why the story is called Faded yet? ;) Also, I'm looking for a beta. Anyone interested? See ya next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - I was going to get this out sooner, but I've been sick with a double ear infection and sleeping mostly. Still looking for a beta, btw. Here we go.**

Castle woke up feeling hopeless. He could already tell that his attempt at getting out of the alternate universe didn't work. He heard his mother and daughter talking from the kitchen. But there was still no Beckett. Slowly climbing out of bed, he wandered into the kitchen to be with his other favorite ladies.

"Morning Pumpkin, Mother."

"Good morning, Dad." A kiss from his daughter accompanied her greeting.

"Morning Richard."

...

That evening Castle was home alone. He was pacing about the loft as fast as his bullet ridden body would let him.

How is he going to fix this? How is he going to get back to Beckett? He's tried a million different ways to "wake up" from this nightmare. He feels himself losing hope. Maybe this is actually reality. He then chastises himself for thinking that way. There's no way a life could exist for him without Kate Beckett.

Giving up for the hundredth time in the hour, he goes to the kitchen for a snack. Maybe some food will help his brain work this out. After getting what he needs out of the refrigerator, he sets up shop in the living room. At least here, there's no direct distractions.

Just as he's finished with his snack, there's a knock at the door. Rick scuffles to the door just as another knock sounds.

"Coming." he calls.

As soon as he opens the door he knows it was a mistake to answer. Standing before him is Caleb Brown. Castle, panicking, tries to shut the door in his face. Caleb however has other ideas. He kicks the door back open, knocking Castle in the face.

Castle falls to the ground and feels Caleb's shoe hit his face right before everything fades to black.

 **A/N - one last chapter after this one, then I have a new story to start. :) Hope you enjoyed. I love reviews, so please, leave them. Good or bad, I'll take 'em.**


	5. Chapter 5

Beeping. That's the first sound he hears. Beeping, and it's cold. Why is the beeping back?

"Castle."

He knows that voice. He snaps his eyes open to a bright light. Too bright. He shuts them immediately.

"Hey, Castle. Wake up."

Opening his eyes more slowly this time, he takes in the light. He looks to his right and sees the source of the beeping. A machine monitoring his heart beat and vital signs. He gathers he's in a hospital.

"Castle?"

Turning his head slowly to the left. He sees her in all her beautiful glory. Kate Beckett, love of his life, mother of his future children. She's not dead. She never was.

"Kate," he sighs. "Hey."

"Welcome back to Earth, Castle," she chuckles.

"Kate, I thought…they told me you were dead."

She sees the hurt flicker in his eyes from saying those words.

"Oh Rick, I've been right here for the last 2 days waiting for you to wake up."

2 days? He was unconscious for 2 days? So _that's_ what happened. He was unconscious and dreamed the worst thing his mind could come up with. A life without Kate. And he _knew_ it.

Castle retells all he can remember from while he was unconscious, watching her face through it all. It's like she's being captivated by one of his stories. One of his saddest, most horrifying stories.

"Castle I would never leave you. Our love story doesn't end in tragedy."

Castle smiles, and feels the familiar weight on his hand.

The nurse comes and checks on him, adds more medication to his IV, and leaves them. He's getting sleepy again.

He looks at Kate in her wheelchair sitting beside his bed. He takes in the weight of her hand in his.

"Stay with me this time, Kate."

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be, Rick."

She kisses the back of his hand just as everything in Castle's view fades back to black.

 **A/N- Well that's all he wrote, folks. Sad to see it go, but happy it's finished. Until the next story, my friends. :)**


End file.
